The London-listed life insurance consolidator Phoenix Group Holdings is closing in on a deal to sell its European operations in a deal worth about £550m.

Sky News has learnt that Phoenix is finalising the details of a sale to European Life Group Holding (ELG), a privately owned vehicle backed by the US-based fund Sixth Street.

City sources said that a deal could be announced as early as this week.

If completed, it would continue a frenetic period of dealmaking for Phoenix, which now has a market capitalisation of £7.35bn.

It recently struck an agreement with Standard Life Aberdeen to acquire the Standard Life name, leading to SLA’s decision to rebrand itself as Abrdn.

Some of the assets that Phoenix now plans to sell to ELG were previously part of Standard Life.

Phoenix confirmed that it was exploring a disposal of its European businesses last November following interest from a number of third parties.

ELG is run by Deepak Rajan, a former executive at Athora, a life insurance consolidator established by the private equity giant Apollo Global Management.

It says it was formed to “positively disrupt” Europe’s long-term guaranteed life insurance market.

Phoenix declined to comment, while ELG could not be reached for comment.

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